2008.12.15

Hoi An Market Favorites: Banh Khoai

Last week in Hoi An we had time to do something we haven't in ages: hang out in a market.

Hanging in the market is a particularly useful exercise in heavily-touristed Hoi An, where finding good Vietnamese food is a challenge. In the market it's a different story. There's so much fantastic stuff there that by the end of our fourth day our list of favorites had grown too long to manage in one morning. It's a damned sorry situation in which to find yourself - last day at the market, forced by lack of belly space to pick and choose.

This banh khoai vendor works at a low makeshift stall to one side of the market's 'food court', a line of concrete tiled stalls housing vendors selling everything from pho to fruit shakes. As we walked the food court line on our first morning several banh khoai vendors called out and waved their crepe pans at us - a flashing red light, in my book. We turned a corner and there this was this woman, quietly serving customers, completely oblivious to our existence.

We sat.

Banh khoai is the predecessor to banh xeo, a huge rice flour pancake filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts that's more common in Saigon and south. As it cools banh xeo gets unappealingly soft and heavy with oil; for me it's always been a three-bite wonder.

Not so the smaller, more manageable banh khoai. The filling in this vendor's version is minimal - a single small slice of fatty belly pork and a half a small shrimp layed in the pan after the batter's been poured, a flourish of bean sprouts added just before she slides the pancake out of its pan. To eat, they're opened onto a square of stiff rice paper, layered with a few slices of tart star fruit and young banana and a handful of greens and herbs (sprouts, basil, paddy herb, mint, and lettuce, at this stall), and rolled tight. The dipping sauce alongside is made from soy beans and glutinous rice; chili's optional.

In one, two, three ... maybe four bites you're finished. The pancake's stayed warm and its edges crackly to the end, lightly cooked bean sprouts as crispy as the fresh greens you just added. This is a heavily oiled treat, but not overly so - the extra grease works here, soaking into the stiff rice paper and mixing with the dipping sauce.

Our usual limit was two each, but only because in this market we had other fish to fry - cao lau, central-style pho, ngo bap, banh beo ....

Comments

If you have another chance in Hoi An, go across the bridge over the river. There you will find several restaraunts in a row selling hen tron, banh dap, and che bap. The hen tron is amazing. Tiny tiny little clams in a mound with fried shallots and peanuts and a delicious sauce, served with 2 kinds of banh dap.

Hi Aariq - I'm wondering when you were last in Hoi An. If you're referring to the strip across the river from the covered Japanese bridge, it's being remade (ie. tartened up) into hotels/high-end bars and restaurants. When we were there many places had yet to open, and there looked to be just one place focusing on Vietnamese food (for tourists). No vendors in sight, unfortunately.
Or are you referring to across the river via the bridge over by the market?

Kang - thanks. They say photograph what you love, and we do love markets...

Funny enough, we had a similar experience in Hoi An. We had difficulty finding a good Vietnamese meal, though we did get lucky with a few treats at the market. We also stumbled upon a place in a back alley, were we were treated to piles of grilled pork and mounds of crisp vegetables, waiting to be wrapped up in rice paper. We were so happy to be having a good meal that we ate until we were stuffed beyond belief. Mmm...

We are in Asia doing research for our restaurant and we just left Hoi An and found the market to be the best place for good authentic food! We drooled after seeing your blog remembering how lucky we were to come across the ladies in the market.

I'm talking about the bridge over the river by the market. We wandered over that way because our guide book said something about a wood carver, but we found nothing much over there except 3 or four restaraunts all serving hen tron, banh dap, and che bap.

I am a Vietnamese but never had a chance to make my way to many cities. And you might say I am partial but I always prefer food in Dalat. If you visit, there are so many dishes that you should try. Food in Dalat, in my opinion, is distinct for the plethora of vegetables served with virtually any dish. Dalat is, after all, the city of flowers and vegetables in Vietnam.